�bersetzungsrichtlinien f�r Spezialausdr�cke in
Amiga- und CDTV-Dokumentationen

(Der Erl�uterungstext ist in Englisch gehalten, damit er auch f�r
ausl�ndische Softwareanbieter anwendbar ist.)

----
Guidelines for German translations of Amiga documentation

Additional remark on 12.Nov.96: Within certain limits this glossary
can be used also for BeOS on the BeBox. Of course there will have
to be made adaptions to the different terminology, of which nothing
has happened yet in this version 9.


Version 9, 1.10.1992
by Dr. Peter Kittel, Commodore Frankfurt, Germany




This document is intended to help you make your German documentation for
your Amiga products consistant with the documentation Commodore provides
with its products. You should strictly follow these guidelines. Otherwise,
the user may be confused by several manuals talking about the same subject
in totally different ways.
For the same reason, these guidelines should be followed by authors of
computer books or magazine articles.

Though here more Amiga specific terms are covered, most of these
guidelines are also applicable for documentation for Commodore
MS-DOS PC's.

1. Part One is a simple vocabulary list where you will find many
Amiga-specific and general computer terms. You will not find terms
you can directly take from any normal English-German dictionary
that have no special or differing meaning in the computer world.

2. Part Two is a special glossary for CDTV. It has certain similarities
with Amiga, but also some significant differences. This part is not
only a vocabulary, but also comes with explanations of the terms and
when to use which of them. These explanations are in German.

3. Part Three is a collection of some general rules and hints for the German
language and documentation.




This document is provided "as is" and is subject to change. It reflects the
current status of the project.






First part: Vocabulary

American                     German
-------------------------------------------------------------------
# (number)                   Nr.
3-prong power plug           Schutzkontaktstecker, Schukostecker
@ (at sign)                  a) letter: "Klammeraffe", "geschweiftes a",
                             b) meaning at: an, bei
AC                           Wechselspannung
AC adapter                   Netzteil
AC outlet                    Netzsteckdose
accelerator board            Beschleunigerkarte
action gadget                Aktionssymbol
activity light               Kontrollampe
add-on                       Zusatz
alarm (clock)                Wecker
alert                        Warnmeldung
allocate, to                 reservieren
ampersand                    kaufm�nnisches Und
animation                    Animation
argument (of a command)      Argument
array                        Feld (-variable)
array subscript              Feldindex
aspect (vert. or horiz.)     Bildlage
aspect ratio                 Bildseitenverh�ltnis
assembly (language)          Assembler
assign, to                   zuweisen
At sign                      "At"-Zeichen, "Klammeraffe"
autoboot                     Autoboot
autoconfig, to               autokonfigurieren
AutoScroll                   Auto-Rollen
average current              Betriebsstrom
back                         Hintergrund
back gadget                  Hintergrundsymbol
backdrop window              Hintergrundfenster
backfilled                   ausgef�llt
backslash                    Schr�gstrich r�ckw�rts
backspace key                R�cktaste
backup                       Sicherungskopie
bail arm                     B�gel (mit Andruckrollen)
bail roller                  Andruckrollen
bank, banks (of memory)      (Speicher-)Bank, B�nke
batch file                   Befehlsdatei, Skript
battery-backed-up real-time clock
                             batteriegepufferte Echtzeituhr
baud rate                    Baudrate
BBS                         l zu" something, not "mit" something.
In German, use always "Grafik", don't write "Graphik" or "Graphic".
Definition of "Disk": We chose this for German as the general term
for floppy disks and harddisks, all that is writable. So the
workbench menu item "Disk formatieren" is applicable on both.
But when you explicitly talk about floppies of e.g. a shipped new
software version, then you should refer to them as "Disketten".
In contrast, we use "Disc" also in German for not-writable
CDTV CD's.
Files are stored "auf einer Disk" and "auf einer Partition" (the latter
is treated like an independent disk), but "in Verzeichnissen"
(directories) and "in Schubladen" (drawers).
The english word "release" has no really well fitted german
equivalent. In most cases you may use "Version", but there are
special cases, where in English you have both "version" and "release"
with different meanings. Then you better concatenate both into
a general "Version" information.
Avoid the german word "installieren". This is only acceptable when
dealing with really complex things, like a whole new operating
system or a hardware addition that also needs software drivers.
In most cases, words like "einsetzen", "einbauen" (mechanically)
or "kopieren" (software) are to be preferred.
Avoid the german verb "ablaufen" for programs as translation of
"to run". Programs just "laufen". There's also the noun "Ablauf",
this is more rare, but less critical. Also when prompting a user
"to run" a program, don't use "ausf�hren" in German. Only the computer
(or microprocessor) does this, not the user. Use "starten" or
"aufrufen" instead.
Don't always translate the english "to move" with "bewegen". This
has in German more the meaning of gradual, longer lasting movements.
This is ok e.g. for a normal cursor key. But if an operation happens
instantaneously, e.g. cursor to end of line, then you better use
"stellen" or "(um)setzen". Also, when files are moved to a different
drawer, use "verlegen".
The english "at the prompt" should be translated as "hinter der
Eingabeaufforderung", not as "an der Eingabeaufforderung".
The english "load from disk" should be translated as "von Disk
laden", not as "ab Disk laden".
The english "string" always translates to "Zeichenkette", not
"Zeichenfolge".
Computer mice and keyboards have "Tasten", not "Kn�pfe".
In German, you always use "Tabulatoren", never "Tabulatorstopps".
Amiga files you find in "(Unter-)Verzeichnissen" or "Schubladen", but
never in "Ordnern"!

18. Please avoid typical english comma rules in German! E.g. the
sentence "After installation of the hardware, all should work."
MUST NOT have a comma in its german translation: "Nach Einbau der
Hardware sollte alles funktionieren."

19. Here a little list of terms where you should avoid the english
word totally and only use the translation:
File --> Datei
Script --> Skript
Drawer --> Schublade (NEVER use "Ordner"!)
Directory --> Verzeichnis
Subdirectory --> Unterverzeichnis (NEVER use "Ordner"!)
Icon --> Piktogramm
Menu --> Men�
Gadget --> Symbol
Window --> Fenster
Screen --> Schirm
Requester --> Dialogfenster
Boot --> Start, Neustart
Mouse --> Maus

20. Menus: For the german version of the Amiga menu system, we have
decided to take a different approach for the casing of menu items.
If a menu item together with the menu title gives some meaningful
sentence, then the menu item starts with a lowercase letter (if it's
not a noun, of course). Example: "Projekt / speichern"
Also, when a menu item has an ellipsis appended (those three dots,
indicating the opening of a requester for details), we insert a
space before these dots in German. Example: "Projekt / �ffnen ..."

21. If there remain any questions about correct german spelling,
you should always refer to the "Duden". This is what "Webster"
is for USA, the highest authority in these issues. The "Duden"
has sort of legal authority. There exists a number of volumes
of the Duden, the most important one is "Rechtschreibung".